


soft lips are open (my knuckles are pale)

by shuantics



Series: come to find you four in some velvet morning [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alpha Hong Jisoo | Joshua, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Blow Jobs, Comedy, Drunk Blow Jobs, Drunk Sex, First Meetings, First Time, M/M, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Lee Jihoon | Woozi, One Night Stands, Recreational Drug Use, Smut, bottom!hjs, but !! there's a twist, top!ljh, we're turning this trope on its head ba-by!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-04-21 08:40:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22056652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shuantics/pseuds/shuantics
Summary: Sober Jihoon knew this was a stupid feat. Joshua was an Alpha, for fuck's sake: no way is it ever going to end the way that Jihoon wants and sober Jihoonknew this,goddammit. But sober Jihoon was packing his bags because tipsy Jihoon just called drunk Jihoon to the party by letting Jihoon drinking his Whiskey Sour in three gulps. He caught Joshua looking at him with eyes a little blown, and Jeonghan started chortling, curling into Seungcheol who covered his mouth with his hand. Junhui was the only one who cheered, and that’s because he was probably equally as drunk.“Alright then,” Jeonghan said. “I guess it's that kind of night, huh?”“Do you want to dance?” Drunk Jihoon didn’t give a fuck if this was a stupid feat. Joshua was the worst Alpha Jihoon had ever seen and Jihoon wanted to fuck him.
Relationships: Hong Jisoo | Joshua & Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Lee Jihoon | Woozi
Series: come to find you four in some velvet morning [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1606738
Comments: 14
Kudos: 215





	soft lips are open (my knuckles are pale)

**Author's Note:**

> first thing posted in 2020 and i'm coming in hot with toppling tropes for my own personal agenda and embodying 'ok boomer' in a fic.
> 
> a few notes: this abo-verse has some changes from the typical ones, namely that omegas aren't oppressed and/or rare, but instead betas are rarer; suppressants aren't a popular thing used and heats/ruts happen every season, four times a year rather than monthly!
> 
> this fic has been a thought of mine for over a year now and has only come to existence thanks to the wonderful support and encouragement of two lovely persons after a long, long writing break, so thank you, my angels. <3

Joshua knew something was wrong when he presented. First of all, he was a college freshman, the only person in his year to be unscented during orientation, the only one not to get laid during rush week. Secondly, the morning after four night so of agonizing presentation, Seungcheol told him he smelt like an Alpha.

“Why are you frowning?” Jeonghan asked. “Even I could tell you were presenting as an Alpha a week before it happened: your scent is really strong.”

Through late-night talks with his two roommates, Joshua had pieced together that and Alpha presentation would’ve been a lot less… desperate. Jeonghan told him that when he presented, a whole four years before his friend, he’d been taken over with an overwhelming need  _ to fuck _ , to find a sweet-smelling Omega and knot them. All Joshua could remember was the deep need settled in the pit of his stomach that made him ache for the opposite. He remembered for four nights in a row rutting helplessly against his pillow, puncturing his swollen lip to stop the avid, keening whimpers from leaving his throat. He was so sure he had presented an Omega. 

“I don’t know,” Joshua said. “It felt… weird. It didn’t feel like you told me yours felt.”

“Oh, Josh, everyone’s presentation is different! Plus, I had mine when I was in high school, I was a lot younger. Probably differs with age.”

Seungcheol too was a late bloomer, only presenting a month before college started, and he wrapped his arm around Joshua’s shoulders. Joshua held his breath, trying so hard to not breathe in his inviting scent. “Everyone Alpha’s first rut is difficult,” he added. “It’ll get easier and more natural.”

They didn’t get it. How could they? As far as Joshua knew, both of them were satisfied and having sex regularly enough to keep them healthy; last month, Jeonghan had been the one to see Seungcheol through his heat. He stared into his cereal and watched the colours of his Cap’n’ Crunch turn wet and flakey.

Joshua went to a party a week later, and an Omega got on their knees for him. It didn’t work,  _ nothing  _ worked, no matter how hard Joshua thought about wanting it, he just didn’t,  _ he couldn’t. _ The Omega left, and Joshua cried to Jeonghan on the curb outside the Frat house about how he hated the thought of fucking someone. It was wrong, it was all so fucking wrong. Joshua felt fake and dirty and sooner or later, everyone was going to know about Alpha Joshua who wouldn’t bring himself to bed a pretty, eager Omega that sat right in front of him. 

“What am I going to do?”

“Nothing, Josh. Nothing.” Jeonghan stroked his hair and Seungcheol rubbed his back. “There’s nothing wrong with you, okay? Everyone has tastes and preferences. Yours are just a bit refined.”

Jeonghan took Joshua home and three months after, when his second rut came, Jeonghan pseudoknot him just as he had asked. The three roommates kept it a secret, and Joshua didn’t let himself be approached by Omegas at parties anymore. When his mom asked, Joshua just told her he was going to wait until after college to get a partner and hoped it could get away with it for as long as he possibly could

* * *

“You’re in your prime, Jihoon—”

Jihoon leaned over the table and mouthed to his friends,  _ kill me. _

“I know, mom, but—”

“I’m just trying to help you! I’d hate for you to ruin these years and have birth complications later on because you waiting so long to have kids.”

“I’ve just started my first job, mom, please try to understand. I’m busy, I don’t have time to think about dating, let alone starting a family.”

“Let's put him out of his misery,” Wonwoo whispered, and he and Soonyoung both pointed two of their fingers at Jihoon, popping in unison as Jihoon flopped silently onto the table.

“Sweetie, I just want you to be happy,” his mom said and Jihoon rubbed his eyes. “You’re so lonely, you could at least get a partner, even if you don’t want kids for another year or so.”

_ Unbelievable, _ he mouthed. “I know, mom. I can do that on my own, though, so  _ please _ , stop setting me up on dates? Please?”

His mom started to find more excuses but Jihoon shook his head to his roommates, who both put their hands together in prayer.

“Listen, mom, I have a load of work to do, so I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? I love you, too. Goodnight.” He slapped his phone on the table and put his face in his hands. “Fucking hell.”

“The date was  _ that _ bad, huh?” Soonyoung asked.

Jihoon shook his head again and sighed, shovelling peanuts into his mouth and grabbing his drink. “After one drink he tried to bite my neck.”

Wonwoo squinted at him. “As in,  _ mark  _ you?”

“Wish I was joking.”

“Where did your mom find him?”

“I used to go to Sunday School with him. Not that I’d remember, I’ve blocked most of my childhood out.” Jihoon tutted and loosened his tie. “She just doesn’t understand that I want to work before I have kids.  _ If _ I even have kids, and that’s a big if.”

“It’s hard enough for you to hook up with someone in the first place,” Wonwoo commented. “Let alone date.”

“Why can’t more Alphas be like you?” Jihoon scoffed. “You’re not a sex-driven, personality void jock. You’re kind and interesting. All the Alpha’s I’ve ever come across other than you are just annoying and horny who see Omegas as free fucking breeding real estate.”

“I keep saying, most Alphas are raised like that, to be possessive and aggressive to secure an Omega by twenty-five,” Wonwoo added. “If people didn’t keep consuming media that perpetuated this idea of hyper agrosexual Alphas, life would be a lot easier.”

“Agrosexua, did you learn that word in college?” Soonyoung asked.

“Social politics 101.”

“God bless politics majors,” Jihoon said. “And God bless Betas,” he said nodding to Soonyoung, who tipped his drink in response. “If it weren’t for them, I’d still be trying to get laid.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Wonwoo said. “Here’s to Omegas being respected, Alphas being less horny and Betas holding society together.” The three roommates clinked bottles.

Jihoon at least could understand why his mom worried about him. When she was twenty-three, she had already pair-bonded with his dad and they were expecting. Seeing her son reach that age and not even have a partner to move in with made her panic about Jihoon ending up like his great-aunt, who finished her mating cycle kid-less and chose to adopt seventeen cats. Jihoon didn’t plan to stay single  _ forever _ , but he certainly wasn’t planning to settle with any dumb  _ agrosexual  _ Alpha to knot him at the first given chance either. Jihoon wanted a  _ relationship,  _ just not yet, and not with the only goal of breeding in mind. He wanted what Junhui, his old college roommate, had with Minghao. They were dating years before Minghao got the Omega pregnant; granted it was too young for Jihoon’s standard, since they announced it the day after graduation, but even Jihoon could tell that they had kids because they were in love, not because society spoke for them too. Fuck, Jihoon didn’t even like _ bottoming _ , let alone wanting to get knotted this young—the thought made him sick. He liked being in control in the _ and  _ the sheets. He  _ wasn’t  _ a prize, he  _ wasn’t _ a piece of meat whose sole purpose was to pop out kids, despite what media portrayed of Omegas. 

It’s people like his uncle who were the problem, the ones who blamed young Omegas who wanted a career before kids for ramping up housing prices and destroying the economy. Fuck what they wanted, and fuck them for raising otherwise decent Alphas into being awful people because that’s what their biology dictated. 

Whatever. Jihoon didn’t care what society wanted. If no Alpha wanted him for  _ him,  _ career aspirations, dominance and all, then they won’t get him. Simple as. Jihoon was quite happy hooking with Betas for the rest of his life if that would be the case.

* * *

“Virginity is a social construct, anyway.” Joshua piled another dumpling into his mouth. “And, technically, I’m not a virgin.”

Jeonghan rolled his eyes. “Not this again.”

“I’m right!” Joshua argued. “Virginity is a religious concept that has bled into our culture to shame young people, mostly girls, into fitting into the societal bounds of purity and—”

“You’re a Christian, why is this a problem for you?”

“I’m a gay liberal Christian, Jeonghan! My entire faith is based around criticising—”

“Guys, please, I’m trying to watch  _ Dynasty. _ ” Seungcheol, who was settled between the pair of Alphas on the dusty, beat-up sofa, propping his feet up on the unopened moving box sitting with three others making up their makeshift coffee table.

“Joshua started it!”

“You’re the one who brought up me bring a virgin again!”

“Can’t we have one nice family dinner!”

The two slumped back into the sofa, each loading more and more dumplings into their mouths to self-restraint from bickering. It was like a drug to them, picking little fights, almost to keep the energy up in the three-man apartment, as if Seungcheol singing in the shower wasn’t enough.

“Now I have to rewind because I missed what Elizabeth Gillies had to say.”

“All I’m saying,” Jeonghan stated, speaking through the dough, “is that Joshua should just come with us next week. This mixer club is bigger, people come from all over the county, it’s like the Papa John’s of mating grounds.”

“I’ve been to mixer clubs, Jeonghan.” (Between them, Seungcheol further sank into the sofa, muttering, “I give up.”) “Several times, sometimes twice a week since I was nineteen. And I still haven’t found a one night stand, let alone a date. Omegas expect me to want to fuck them right there—” (“Bit of a generalisation,” Seungcheol said) “—and always are disappointed because I’m not like you, Han, I don’t fit in the cute little mould society had for Alphas. And even then, Alphas want to fight me for looking at them the wrong way because even if I am clearly not trying to steal their Omega,  _ they  _ feel the need to fit into that mould. The bigger the club, the more toxic testosterone there tends to be and I’m not about that life this decade. I’m signing up for OkCupid and I’m gonna move to the countryside to find someone to love me without wanting me to breed them.”

Joshua finished his speech by snatching up a dumpling from Jeonghan’s bowl and shoves it into his cheeks. In the silence, Seungcheol snickered and looked between them.

“He has a point, Han—” 

“Oh, so now you’re on his side, huh! Real loyal!”

“He just doesn’t want to go to any more mixers! He’s right, they’re testosterone dens and you always end up getting jealous over me anyway, so why do we both go anyway?”

“Because we are Joshua’s best friends and we are his wingmen.”

Joshua snorted. “And we’ve achieved so much as a trio in five years of knowing each other, right?”

“Can we watch  _ Dynasty  _ now?”

“Either way, I just said, I don’t want to go club-hopping to find a partner anymore. I’ve given up, I don’t care, I guess I’ll just move out when you two have kids and adopt seventeen cats.” 

Seungcheol opened his mouth but Joshua holds his hand up, earning another giggle.

“Shut up, put  _ Dynasty _ on.”

“I’ve lost all interest in  _ Dynasty _ .”

“Please,” Jeonghan said. “Just one more. One more night out with us. If this mixer is a flop, I’ll never ask you to come to one again.”

Joshua inhaled through his nose. “Promise?”

“I’ll even help you look for the cats.”

Joshua pursed his lips and considered. On the one hand, he meant what he said about giving it up: he’s twenty-four, he’s practically an old age pensioner; he’s had his time going to clubs and mixers and being rejected on site by anyone with enough honesty to straight-up tell him they wanted someone to knot, even pseudoknot them, which Joshua still couldn’t deliver. Sometimes he got numbers, but they were almost always fake, and if not, the rest of the time he was just ghosted. Omegas want something from Alphas, and it's within their natural rights to have it, so Joshua never left a club alone: he always left with resentment towards society to keep him company. Sometimes, shame came for a threesome. He knew he shouldn’t be ashamed—Jeonghan has made it a point several, several times to make sure Joshua knew he wasn’t abnormal, but what else can you call an Alpha who really really wants to be topped. In reality, Joshua’s time has basically run out. He’s already picked out the names for the cats.

But, Jeonghan was a man of persuasion—he always has been, since he once convinced Joshua to attempt to sneak snacks into the movies by duct taping them to his skin. And he’s really quite adorable, as can be seen from the way his blinked at Joshua, mouth slightly pouted, cute to the point you’d never think him an Alpha. And there’s Seungcheol too, who had Omega written all over him, with big eyes and big lips and, most importantly, a big heart, full with love for just about anyone he met—which, of course, included Joshua, which Joshua knew Seungcheol knew, so refuting him when he looked at him expectantly as well was near impossible. And, to top it off, Joshua did want a partner; he just really wanted someone the way Seungcheol had Jeonghan, the way all his friends had their partners; he didn’t even care about whatever role his biology dictated for him, he just wanted someone to love him.

“Fine,” he conceded.  _ “One  _ more mixer next week. If I end up being comforted by a tweaker in the bathroom again, I’m never setting foot into another club again.”

Jeonghan hissed in victory and clapped once, adding a little jig as he settled down into the sofa with his win. “It’s going to be good, Josh, I promise. My old course mates are meeting up with us there—”

“Oh, you didn’t tell me I’d be meeting people!” Joshua scolded. “Now I have to worry about seeming cool.”

“Give over, you’ve met Junhui and Wonwoo before, and Wonwoo is bringing his roommate Soonyoung; you never know, maybe you might like them.”

Joshua hummed and sank back into the sofa in defeat. One more. That’s all. 

“Can we put  _ Dynasty _ on now?”

* * *

It’s when he was standing in the line shivering that Jihoon thinks maybe going commando in his skinny jeans wasn’t the best idea: his dick was really, really cold.

“Do you want my coat, Jihoon?” Wonwoo asked. The Alpha stood close to him, so much so that Jihoon could smell his cologne mixed with his scent. 

"I'm alright, thanks," Jihoon replied, teeth chattering. "We're almost in, anyway."

"Fine, freeze," Wonwoo replied playfully but didn't move either way. Jihoon was semi-thankful: an Alpha almost in his rut for the season always was a little bit warmer than usual. Tonight, Jihoon knew the bar crawl was for him to find someone to help him through next week. 

"I'm glad you came," Soonyoung said, swinging an arm around Jihoon's shoulders. "It's gonna be a good night. I can tell."

While Wonwoo was sober, Soonyoung was not—he'd been pre-drinking a little too hard, and stuck to the Alpha like chewing gum. He was here for a good time, like every time he goes out because as much as society likes to perpetuate it, not all Betas are uptight and boring. (Between them, they made the most upsetting combination of roommates to stiff traditionalists; Jihoon's grandmother had to tut every time he mentioned his single Alpha and Beta roommates: "Why not just partner with Wonwoo?" Because they're best friends, Nana, get a grip!)

Beside them, Junhui shivered just as much as Jihoon, though he had thought things through beforehand and brought a functional, yet widely stylish jumper. And snacks. He brought snacks for waiting to get into the club. (He'd always been resourceful, but parenthood had got him for the better.) He was here for a night off, Minghao having taken the kids to his parents for the weekend. The bags under his eyes told Jihoon he was going to tap out after a couple of bars down the block—what he needed was a full night of sleep, not a club crawl.

Jihoon didn't know why he came out. He was cold, his eyeliner had been smudged already and in one bar he'd had three Alpha's ask for his number. But he looked around at his three best friends and pushed that from his head. He was here to hang out with them, to have a good time. Even if Junhui did leave early, he had Wonwoo; and if Wonwoo left to find a partner, he had Soonyoung. 

"Who are we meeting with tonight?" Jihoon asked.

"Jeonghan, remember him from my course at college? I think he's bringing his partner and another friend, Joshua. He was their roommate in college.”

And if Soonyoung got sloppy drunk like he usually did, Jihoon would have Jeonghan and Seungcheol. He hadn't seen them in aeons and Jeonghan gave the best hugs.

The best, but also Jihoon was small-boned, as he’d like to say, and Jeonghan crushed every single one of them.

"Jihoon!  _ Jihoon-Jihoon-Jihoon-Jihoon-Jihoon!" _ Jeonghan bounced him in his arms and neglected to even acknowledge the other three as he spun him around. "My favourite boy, I missed you!"

The small booth did not the space to accommodate that kind of greeting, but Jeonghan gave each of them a squeeze right after.

Jihoon moved onto Seungcheol and have him a less aggressive hug. He's gained more muscle since Jihoon last saw him—granted that was almost a year ago now, but still, Jihoon felt warm in his arms, a delight after almost forty minutes in the bitter cold.

Then there was Joshua, who Jihoon had never met before (or at least he hoped that’s Joshua—it’ll be kind of awkward if he wasn’t). Joshua was an Alpha, from what Jihoon could smell. He was a head or so taller than himself, the dark of the area barely allowing him to drain in his face. He puts his hand out anyway, and Joshua takes it and a firm, very Alpha like handshake. Maybe a little too Alpha: it came off rigid but Jihoon gave him a pass; he’s been told he’s a little intimidating to meet for the first time, especially in the dark.

“Hi,” Jihoon said. “Jihoon.”

“Oh, no, sorry. My name’s Joshua, not Jihoon.”

Jihoon missed a beat and frowned. “No, I mean,  _ my  _ name is Jihoon. I was introducing myself.”

Joshua physically cringed, rolling his lips together and sighing. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I—I’m just an idiot, I—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jihoon tittered. Despite the second-hand embarrassment gnawing at him, Jihoon shook it off, turning his head as Jeonghan took his shoulder. 

“Jihoon—oh, you’ve already met, great. Anyway, Hoon, this is mine and Cheol’s roommate,  _ not  _ our third party, thank you, Soonyoung. His name is Joshua. Josh, this is my little baby—” (Jihoon visibly grimaced at Jeonghan.) “—Jihoonie, my favourite person in the world. Apart from you, Cheol, of course—” 

Jihoon could barely get another word in with Joshua before a drink was being pushed into his hand and it’s down his neck and before he can remember how he’s sandwiched between Junhui and Seungcheol, Soonyoung having already found a tall Omega-scented boy to dance with just by them. They’re on the dance floor, drinks raised in the air, dancing and laughing like no one was watching. He didn’t know how much time had passed but he drank and drank every time something cold was put into his hand.

A lot of people were though. On him and Seungcheol especially. Junhui had it easy: he was claimed by Minghao when he was a junior in college; he’s never had to deal with horny Alphas staring at them like they were pieces of meat. And Seungcheol—he had a partner, someone at least to tell other Alphas to back off when they got too close. Not that Jihoon wanted to be protected by an Alpha, he’s perfectly capable of using pepper-spray on his own, and he hadn’t been using his apartment complex’s gym every day for the past six months just to look pretty. But still, Alphas seemed to think that with not being marked comes a free pass to try what they liked like he was a piece of meat on a hook. 

He tried to focus on dancing: the lit-up floor echoed beats over his feet and the arms of his friends made his thin button-up—somehow half undone over an hour or so—stick to his slick chest and his hair, which he tried so hard to keep pressed back, had fallen in strands over his eyes. But uncomfort bubbled in his stomach the more he kept thinking about the Alphas around him, the more he sensed them looking at him. However empowering being a twenty-three-year-old single Omega may be to the boomers getting uncomfortable at the sight of his clean neck, it also terrified him. He shouldn’t have to feel like this, but he does.

He looks to the edge of the wall-to-wall packed club and spots Jeonghan, Wonwoo and Joshua. Like good Alphas, Jeonghan and Wonwoo were standing, perched around a stooled table, watching their Omegas in the crowd. Not territoriality, though: Jihoon could feel the fondness of Jeonghan’s stare as he watched Seungcheol playfully let Soonyoung grind on him. And Wonwoo, despite being on the lookout for an Omega himself, kept a watch on his group equally so. Jihoon respected that, he respected the Alphas that weren’t sex-crazed and dominant and possessive like its the fucking dark ages and he hates how safe he felt under their watchful eyes. 

Then Jihoon saw Joshua. Joshua was looking everywhere but the packed dance floor like he was trying to avoid acknowledging its presence altogether. He looked between the door, the bar and the conversation he was having with Jeonghan and Wonwoo, only occasionally darting a gaze towards the three Omegas and the Beta in the crowd. It doesn’t seem like he was particularly concerned with watching over the rest of the group; either that or he felt like he didn’t have a right to, which Jihoon could only pinpoint to the fact that, as far as he was concerned, Joshua had little or no actual ties to the Omegas anyway. Sure, he lived with Seungcheol and Jihoon imagined he was close enough to him to want to protect him, but Seungcheol had Jeonghan, and from what Jihoon could remember from college, Jeonghan wasn't the type to share Seungcheol, marked or not. 

Either way, Jihoon felt his body slow to the music as he caught himself in Joshua’s gaze when he looked over to the crowd next, and Joshua quickly looked away. Jihoon felt his chest flush with more heat like his body was begging him to go and talk to the Alpha. Oh, how could his hormones betray him like this?

Fucking hell. Jihoon isn’t drunk enough for this kind of shit. He parts with Seungcheol by shouting in his ear that he’s getting a drink, and to save his spot and squeezes out to go and talk with the trio of Alphas. It was a lot cooler outside of the person-huddle and Jihoon fanned himself as he slid onto the vacant stool in the middle of them. Jihoon tried not to notice, but instantly, Joshua’s back straightens in attention. Alphas. 

Jihoon reached for a bottle on the table at random and swigs it empty, feeling the hesitation of Joshua to look at him, then to look away, only to look at him again. Well, at least he’s hesitating. Most horny Alpha’s would have tried to pin him to the wall by now: this is refreshing.

He dropped the bottle back on the table and looked around at the trio. “Anyone want another drink? I’m buying.”

Wonwoo and Jeonghan decline and Jihoon looked at Joshua, who puts his almost full bottle on the table. “Sure,” he said and got up to follow Jihoon.  _ Alphas. _

The bar was much less crowded than deeper into the club, a little better lit and Jihoon could actually hear himself think. 

“What are you having?” he asked Joshua, who found the pockets of his very suave looking pants and tried not to look stiff. He wasn’t doing too well. 

“Uh, just a beer, please,” he replied and reached for his wallet, to which Jihoon waved him off.

“I’ll get it,” he insisted, and rather quickly, he placed his wallet back. Under the normal lighting of the bar, Jihoon gets a chance to draw his face in his mind: Joshua had sharp cheekbones and a firm jaw, but managed to look soft and doey with big, sparkling eyes, which scrunched into his cheeks when he smiled; his skin looked smooth and just blemished enough to appear rugged and worn, but his lips—oh  _ God,  _ those lips! They were big, a pretty pink, looking opulent and downright quality. Jihoon caught a glimpse of Joshua’s tongue flicking over them, and they shone with a sheen of spit and Jihoon felt a literal chill shot down his spine.

No. No, no. Not now Jihoon. Get that image out of your head. Those lips will  _ not  _ be pressed against your skin by the end of the night. He called over the bartender when he got a chance and promptly got ignored. Behind him, Joshua snickered, and Jihoon turned to give him a very obnoxious eye roll, but Joshua didn’t intervene. Instead, he waited too, next to Jihoon until another bartender became available. 

“So, you live with Jeonghan and Seungcheol?” Jihoon made the attempt of small talk since it seemed like Joshua wasn’t going to.

“Oh, yeah, yeah, they were my roommates in college and we got a place after it. Just waiting for them to get sick of me, really.”

Jihoon snickered and shook his head with a smile. “Isn’t it awkward, though? Like they’ve been together for a long time.”

Joshua smiled, but Jihoon can tell from the way he shifted and sank his teeth into his bottom lip that he had touched a sore topic. Great going, Jihoon. Now stop thinking of biting his lip for him.

“Eh, sometimes, but you know…”

“Sorry,” Jihoon said. “I shouldn’t have asked, I didn’t mean to pry.”

Joshua waved him off with a smile and Jihoon felt his stomach settle. Oh, so now he cares what Alphas think of him? Or he just didn’t want to be rude to almost-strangers? Either way, he was thinking about Joshua’s lips again, for fuck's sake. He needed a drink.

Jihoon tried to flag another bartender down, this time getting an ear before promptly being ignored again. “Are you kidding me?”  _ It’s not because you’re an Omega, _ he told himself.  _ It can’t be. No one is still that ignorant. _

Joshua had no luck either: he could barely raise his voice enough to get the attention of the Beta next to them, let alone bartenders at a busy bar. (And no, he didn’t mean to check Joshua out when he leaned over the bar, but he did, so what? His ass was good, leave him alone.) Jihoon wouldn’t have minded if it was just busy, but he was sure almost three Alphas had arrived after them and been served before, and Jihoon was just the right level of tipsy to want to start a fight. Joshua’s an Alpha, why wasn’t he getting served? Granted, thus far, he was probably the worst Alpha Jihoon had ever encountered, but he was an Alpha nonetheless. Jihoon was sure that bartender was a Beta. Shit wasn’t adding up.

Joshua turned to Jihoon with a sheepish look and muttered. “I think they’re really held up.” But Jihoon wasn’t interested. He needed more alcohol down his neck before he started seeing things he didn’t need to be seeing (namely Joshua, on his knees, putting his mouth to better use since it seems no good to order drinks). So he pushed himself onto the bar a little, hearing Joshua curse and laugh, and swung his head further into the bar, being sure to be seen, before and Omega bartender came at the with a smile.  _ Yeah, that’s right,  _ Jihoon thought.  _ Stop me from swinging. _

(Sober Jihoon would like to formally apologise to the bar staff—tipsy Jihoon tends to get a little pushy and if he were in his right mind would never have dreamt of being so boisterous. He left a generous tip.)

Armed with their drinks, Joshua and Jihoon shuffled their way back to their table, where Jeonghan stood now in the company of Seungcheol and Junhui. Wonwoo, Jihoon spotted, had joined Soonyoung and that tall Omega, the crowd forming a swathe around them, and Jihoon just knew from the expression on both of his roommates’ faces that he’d have to crash somewhere else or not sleep at all. Maybe he could go home with Joshua. He looked over to the Alpha, who sipped his beer in the most dainty grip he’d ever seen and felt himself grow impossibly more drawn to him. 

Sober Jihoon knew this was a stupid feat. Joshua was an Alpha, for fuck's sake: no way is it ever going to end the way that Jihoon wants and sober Jihoon  _ knew this _ , goddammit. But sober Jihoon was packing his bags because tipsy Jihoon just called drunk Jihoon to come over by drinking his Whiskey Sour in three gulps. He caught Joshua looking at him with eyes a little blown, and Jeonghan started chortling, curling into Seungcheol who covered his mouth with his hand. Junhui was the only one who cheered, and that’s because he was probably equally as drunk. 

“Alright then,” Jeonghan said. “I guess it's that kind of night, huh?”

“Do you want to dance?” Drunk Jihoon didn’t give a fuck if this was a stupid feat. Drunk Jihoon said fuck society and condemning him to being a breeding post. Joshua was the worst Alpha Jihoon had ever seen and Jihoon wanted to fuck him.

Joshua blinked at him, the bottle still posed at his lips. It took him a moment to answer, but when he did, he chirped a “Sure!” and Jihoon seized him by the front of his shirt to lead him into the crowd, is pretty sure he heard Jun chanting a drinking song as Jeonghan followed Jihoon’s suit, downing his beer and taking both Omegas by the waist.

* * *

Joshua’s mind was fucking  _ spinning. _ And he wasn’t even that drunk. He could just smell Jihoon, and Jihoon smelt like a mix of intoxicating pheromones and some really fucking good cologne.

Joshua had never been good with crowds, which is why he hated big clubs. This club was titanic, and the dancefloor big enough to support one-hundred, but Jihoon was keeping his own body firmly against his. Even if Joshua was looking down on him, Jihoon commanded him like he was hypnotic, and Joshua did anything Jihoon wanted him to. 

Joshua had also never been much of a dancer, and he could barely hear the music (which seemed to just be pounding beats anyway), but his body listened to the song that Jihoon’s played, moulding and following what he did like he didn’t even have a choice. This wasn’t good: Jihoon was seducing him, and Joshua knew he wasn’t going to be able to live up to whatever standards Jihoon had for him, but  _ fucking hell _ he could live in this bliss just until they inevitably to the car park and into a cab and Joshua had to distressingly tell Jihoon as he was kissing his neck that he’s a bottom and for Jihoon to then ask to be taken home because he suddenly remembered he had a thing the next day and Joshua had to again go home and fuck himself because apparently, it’s  _ so hard _ to find someone, these days, who wants to top an Alpha. Joshua’s brain short-circuited as he felt Jihoon’s hands on him and he tipped the drink down his neck, feeling it rush to his head. He was so drunk, he’d always been a lightweight but God, he was getting sloppy, bringing his hands around to hold Jihoon. What was he doing? What  _ was  _ he doing? This can’t be real, but— _ oh my God, Jihoon’s kissing my neck.  _ That felt real, that felt  _ so  _ real.

The Omega had his hands locked into Joshua’s hair and was angling his neck just enough to be able to stand on his toes and kiss Joshua’s throat, still being able to keep his hips moving in a not-embarrassing way, which Joshua is sure he was doing himself. 

“Fuck,” he whispered, and he’s certain Jihoon didn’t hear him because he’s not sure the sound left his mouth as a word, but instead a groan. Against his skin, Jihoon smiled but didn’t let up, instead deciding to bare his teeth against him and ever so gently, nip. Joshua’s knees nearly gave out and,  _ fuck _ , he was in way too deep now but,  _ double fuck _ , he was just about to snatch Jihoon by the wrist and take him home himself, he doesn’t even care, he wants Jihoon so badly like he’s never wanted anyone in his life and he’s about to whisper that in his ear.

“Why are you doing this to me?” he managed to choke as Jihoon pulled away and brought their foreheads to touch.

Jihoon wet his lips and Joshua wanted so badly to be on his skin again, so badly that he could’ve begged right there. He grinned and Joshua scolded himself for being so goddamn weak—he barely knew Jihoon and all he wants is to have him fuck him into next week.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Jihoon shouted to be heard enough and Joshua’s heart halted in his chest, then jumped to his throat.

He resisted asking, “Here as in the crowd or as in the club?” (just to make sure) and nodded instead, a grinning Jihoon taking his wrist and pulling him back towards the edge of the dancefloor. He caught Jeonghan on the way, giving him the, “I’ll see you at home,” nod before Jeonghan gave him a cheeky thumbs up and carried on grinding on Seungcheol. 

Outside, the cold air almost had a sobering effect on Joshua, like he was about to wake up from the most intense dream, but as he saw Jihoon rub a sheen layer of sweat from his neck and turn to him to ask, “Your place?” it’s like he swallowed a whole box of NyQuil and is under Jihoon’s intoxicating spell all over again.

“It’s walking distance,” he says, and Jihoon smiled again, finally dropping his wrist and opening one arm down the road.

“Lead the way.”

* * *

Yeah, this shouldn’t be working. Not the way it was, anyway, because Joshua was Alpha and Jihoon was an Omega, and Joshua was on his knees getting Jihoon off. It's like he had stepped him into an alternate dimension, one where everything was upside fucking down—Joshua was compliant like a Beta, subjective to what every Jihoon commanded. It messed with his head, but then again, he couldn't bring himself to care because Joshua's mouth was like black magic and Jihoon was one step away from getting Joshua's face filthy.

Joshua was giving him eyes, like,  _ real _ blowjob eyes, and his lips, however perfect they looked at the bar were nothing compared to how they looked wrapped around his cock. Jihoon, with his hand in Joshuas’ hair, would take all the chances he could to show his appreciation, tugging and moving his head to and fro, just enough to get Jihoon’s hips jerking every time he felt himself hit the back of Joshua’s throat.

“Shit,” he whispered. Joshua dragged his teeth just ever so carefully gracing over Jihoon’s arousal and with a long moan, Jihoon dropped his head back onto Joshua’s pillow, the bed swathing him in the Alpha’s scent. His head was dizzy, his skin was slick with sweat and the tension in his body coiled so tightly it was threatening to snap. Joshua made Jihoon drunk, more so than any whiskey sour he had ever had in his life; he was so wrapped up in every single thin the Alpha did, every hum, every hollow of his cheeks, and every swallow around him. His mind raced, his heart hammered, the coil in his body snapped, and he came down Joshua’s throat with his fingers twisting into his hair. 

“Fuck,” he groaned and with barely any movement, Joshua swallowed everything, pulling his mouth off with a wet noise and lewdly cleaning his lips with his tongue. He looked enticing, somehow making Jihoon feel more drunk, and making him even more avid for him.

Jihoon sat up and grasped at Joshua’s collar to bring him in, lips crushing together again and again and again in a messy need for contact. Joshua kissed him in such a desperate way that his words weren’t even needed: he sat himself on Jihoon’s lap, thin fabric pants rubbing against him eagerly and fumbling with Jihoon’s shirt.

A series of groans, grunts and moans filled the space between them as Jihoon’s shirt is discarded to the floor, and Joshua is pushed down to the pillows. Jihoon bit Joshua’s swollen bottom lip and Joshua responded with a meek, borderline pathetic whimper. He looked a delightful sight for hungry eyes: hair tousled, neck flushed and a throat blooming small, purple hickeys. His lips were coated in a sheen layer of spit and looked the most inviting a pair of lips could’ve been. Jihoon found easy work in undoing the buttons on Joshua’s shirt, hurrying it from his shoulders as his hands touched every inch of his bare skin. Joshua certainly had to body of an Alpha: tall, toned, muscled—any Omega would’ve been thrilled to have Joshua bed them, and Jihoon was no exception. Although, this was a little different of a situation. A crazy one, because after all, Joshua  _ was  _ and Alpha and Jihoon  _ was  _ an Omega, but before the thought could enter his mind, it crumbled under the heavyweight of alcohol and desire and Jihoon was tugging down Joshua’s pants to finally get a taste of his skin. 

Jihoon thought it must’ve been unfair for Joshua: he’d probably needed Jihoon’s slick gland more times than Jihoon ever has. Sometimes they’re helpful, but right now they’re fucking useless, and Jihoon’s having to use his spit while he warms Joshua’s lubricant between his fingers. It was vanilla too; Joshua had taste. 

Joshua’s moans are like a perfectly conducted crescendo crashing down on his ears: so pitched and dramatic that Jihoon felt a puff of confidence every time he dared his digits to Joshua’s entrance. Jihoon was by any term wet and for sure was hard, but Joshua was the one completely susceptible to whatever Jihoon did like he was just as hopeless and wanting as Jihoon was. 

“There,” Joshua just barely whispered and Jihoon resisted in replying with  _ well, where else am I going to finger you?  _ If he lost Joshua know he’d lose his mind in the process; he can’t think of a time he’s ever wanted anything so bad in all his life.

“I’ve never wanted anything so fucking bad in my life,” Jihoon said before he could even think not to. He worked his fingers into Joshua, slowly enough to not hurt, but teasing enough to make Jihoon’s hips tremble. Jihoon found his lips at Joshua’s neck again, kissing, biting and sucking over the perfect, tanned skin, spitting into his free hand to drag up Joshua’s cock.

“Jihoon,” Joshua moaned and Jihoon felt heat pool straight to his crotch. How did he get so fucking lucky? An Alpha just moaned his name; a desperate, wanton moan. Jihoon must’ve done something fucking fantastic in his past life to deserve Joshua, all spread out and  _ moaning  _ for him.

Joshua’s skin was hot to touch and he was groaning the deeper Jihoon pressed his two fingers in. He took it well though, and Jihoon thought about how many people have actually done this before. How many Omega’s had fucked this Alpha? Betas? Surely, an Alpha out there somewhere has been able to finger fuck Joshua Hong. Granted, that Alpha probably swore themselves to secrecy for having sex with one of their own, but also, Jihoon thought how unlucky he had been in his twenty-three years of life, how many people had he fucked? He’d never met someone like Joshua before an Alpha who didn’t want to breed him on sight. Fuck, this was kind of important, wasn’t it?

“Jihoon,” Joshua moaned again, and Jihoon moved to settle himself between Joshua’s legs, still stroking his hand over his cock as he curled his fingers inside Joshua. 

“Fuck, oh—” Joshua’s hips jutted from the bed and his legs either side of Jihoon tensed. “Fuck, like that, like that!”

Jihoon kissed him messily, teeth striking together, Jihoon’s tongue rolling over Joshua’s. He pulled away and Joshua panted the more Jihoon worked his fingers inside him, coercing moan after moan from his pretty lips. 

“Like that?” he rasped, the dirty talk feeling foreign on his tongue and Joshua melted back into the bedsheets. He threw his arms around Jihoon’s neck as he rutted his hips into now three of Jihoon’s fingers like he already had a dick in him. 

“Yes,” Joshua mewled and quivered the harder Jihoon’s digits pressed into him. “Please,  _ fuck,  _ just like that.”

Jihoon can tell when his fingers hit deep enough because Joshua’s head is tossed back and one hand scrunches in Jihoon’s hair.

“Please, fuck, I need your cock,” he begged. “Please, God, I need it bad.”

Jihoon kissed Joshua’s chest once and made a point to drag his fingers down Joshua’s walls as he pulled them out, sitting on his knees as Joshua’s chest rose and fell erratically and asked, “Do you have condoms anywhere?” 

Joshua sat up on his elbows and pushed his sweat mangled hair from his eyes, gesturing then vaguely to the bedside cabinet. Jihoon rummaged through discarded items (including a whole-ass sex toy, who leaves them in their bedside cabinet?) and found an unopened box of ribbed protection. As fast as his lubricated fingers would allow him, he tore the packet open and readjusted his position between Joshua’s legs.

Joshua’s eyes were squeezed shut and Jihoon took a moment to run his hands over the Alpha’s perspiration slicked body. “Are you okay?” he asked, voice barely above a murmur and watched as Joshua looked at him through hooded eyes.

“Yeah,” Joshua breathed and at Jihoon’s motion, he settled back into his pillows. Jihoon leaned over him and kissed him again, unable to stop himself from catching Joshua’s bottom lip in his teeth.

Slowly, with as much self-control as he can, Jihoon eased himself into Joshua, cock considerably thicker than his fingers. Joshua rolled his shoulders back into his pillows, his arms finding Jihoon’s neck again to hang off.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,  _ fuck _ ,” he choked and Jihoon used one hand to brace against the wall above Joshua’s head as he pressed himself in deeper. “God,  _ fuck _ —Jihoon!” 

Jihoon kissed and bit Joshua’s neck, circling his tongue just below his jaw and moving his hips as controlled as he could to facilitate his size inside Joshua. 

“Don’t wait,” Joshua blurted and Jihoon paused his lips to snicker.

“You want me to fuck you hard?” he asked, and Joshua started to writhe, his cock against his stomach twitching. Jihoon put his lips to Joshua’s ear and with his voice dripping with poison, repeated, “You want me to fuck you hard, huh?” He seized the shell of Joshua’s ear between his teeth and tugged, Joshua wriggling under the breath that fawned down his neck.

“Yes, please,  _ please, _ ” Joshua begged. His nails dug into Jihoon’s back as the Omega pulled out, just enough to be able to push back into a little harder and have the Alpha’s body tense around him.

Joshua is lost in a sea of curses and Jihoon is lost in the way he gasps them. His hands brace either side of Joshua’s head, hips working against his mind to snap into him in a semi-respectable rhythm and pace, hips colliding and skin slapping. Joshua’s voice reaches another level, his moans echoing around the four walls, switching between pleading with God and with Jihoon. 

Jihoon found his face burying into Joshua’s neck, the Alpha’s tight body making each drag and thrust a wave of pleasure into his gut. He pauses after some time and pulls Joshua’s hips closer, hiking up his back and tucking a pillow below him to able to sit on his calves. He fucked deeper and Joshua slaps his hand over his mouth after he yelps once from Jihoon snapping into him over and over again, each time harder and less conforming than the last.

Jihoon snatched Joshua’s wrist in his hand again, feeling it close around the blood pumping through Joshua’s veins, and he pinned it down beside the Alpha’s head. 

“Be loud for me,” he purred and Joshua obliged immediately with a long moan that clipped into a gasp as Jihoon fucked into him again, one hand on his wrist, the other holding his hip.

Joshua’s dick leaked beads of pre-come onto his abdomen and Jihoon felt pulses of pleasure at the mere thought of Joshua needing no contact to actually come. He groaned and couldn’t resist hiding his face in Joshua’s neck again: the Alpha just smelt so fucking  _ good _ , like Jihoon could drown himself in his scent and never want to be revived from it. 

“You’re so fucking tight,” Jihoon husked and in typical fashion, Joshua responded by whimpering. “So fucking good.”

“There!” Joshua spluttered and his other hand found its way over his mouth. Jihoon hummed into his skin and stopped his hips again to grasp Joshua’s other wrist, deciding against it suddenly and adjusting himself to turn Joshua over. 

“I want to fucking hear you,” Jihoon groaned. “Scream my name.”

Joshua buried his face into his pillows and cried out as grasps both hips with his hands and garnered all the sober strength he could manage to serve several swift, strong thrusts into Joshua’s body.

“Jihoon!” Joshua’s muffled voice whimpered and Jihoon rubbed one hand over his spine, finding the small sketch of ink on the back of Joshua’s neck. It almost threw him off course, being lost in the very clear tattoo of a crucifix, before the small mewl from Joshua brought him back down to earth. “Fuck, don’t stop,” he said and Jihoon obliged by gripping the back of Joshua’s neck and pressing his body down into the bed.

Joshua’s hips rut against the mattress as Jihoon snapped his into Joshua’s sensitive body. He fucked him like an Alpha in a rut, nails digging into Joshua’s skin, eyes blurring the closer his shaking body got to orgasm. Jihoon was lost in the curves of Joshua’s body, the beautiful tan of his skin and he started to hate everyone whoever said this couldn’t be his; that he couldn’t fuck him because he wasn’t born an Alpha and Joshua wasn’t born an Omega. Fuck that. Fuck everyone who’s ever wanted to fuck him simply because of the way his body’s made and fuck everyone who’s ever wanted Joshua to fuck them because Jihoon’s got Joshua in his grip and he’s never letting him go. The world seems to stop because, in this moment, Jihoon can’t think of anyone else except Joshua: sweet, awkward, fucking gorgeous Alpha Joshua, and he’d die happy to never think about anyone else again.

Jihoon comes for a second time, body bent over Joshua’s, pressing himself into the Alpha as deep as he possibly can reach.

Joshua missed a single beat before he had Jihoon on his back, his knees either side of Jihoon’ hips and easily sank down onto his cock. 

“Fuck,” he keened and braced his hands over Jihoon’s chest, rising and falling, still high in the clouds, and rode him. Categorically, rode him in the most lewd sense of the term. Jihoon gripped his hips again, chewing his lip as the strange fit of Joshua’s much larger frame literally  _ bouncing  _ on his.

“Touch me,” Joshua all but demanded, in a whimper, nonetheless, but Jihoon obliged without a word, using Joshua’s precome to stroke him in time with his movement. Joshua did this  _ thing _ when he came close to coming, where he scrunched his face up and bites his lip, almost as if he was trying not to like he knew the implications of what was going to happen if he let himself orgasm at the hands of an Omega. His tongue darted over his lips and Jihoon without realising, mimicked it, groaning when Joshua did, and as the Alpha’s hips started to stutter and his voice came pitched, Jihoon felt the sensation wash over him also as Joshua came on his chest.

Joshua braced both arms either side of Jihoon as he closed his eyes and caught his breath, Jihoon’s fingers danced over his slicked skin as his chest heaved with every intake.

“Fuck me,” he sighed and with a groan, swung his leg back over and sank into bed beside Jihoon. 

There was stillness between them while they both took the chance to regain themselves, control their breathing and feel the world as it came back into focus around them. Jihoon blinked at the ceiling, as reality came crashing down on him all of a sudden. He resisted the urge to look at Joshua, guessing as much from his silence that reality was seeping back into his vision too.

Joshua sat up and cradled his head in his hands. “What the fuck?” he muttered and looked at Jihoon with a knitted brow. “Did—” he tried desperately to find the words, but they all must have escaped him as he lay back down and started to laugh.

Confused, Jihoon smiled and shook his head. “Yeah,” he said. “We did.”

* * *

Joshua set a glass of water on the bedside cabinet next to Jihoon and sank into the mattress on the other side. 

“Thank you,” Jihoon said and rolled over, resting his temple on his palm and watching Joshua as he rolled a joint on his knee. 

“I’m pretty sure Jeonghan got this from Wonwoo, so it’s not shady, I’m not trying to drug you. Unless Wonwoo spikes his stash, which I would’ve hoped you knew about, but if so, don’t feel pressured to take it—”

“Thank you,” Jihoon said again and held out his palm for the spliff. Joshua flicked on his lighter and lit Jihoon’s up for him before turning his attention to his smoke. By far, the last thing Jihoon expected Joshua to say when they cleaned up the come from Jihoon’s chest was an offer to get high, but fuck, was Jihoon glad to receive it.

Joshua leaned back against the headboard of his bed and took a long drag in.

“What did we just  _ do? _ ” he sniggered, rubbing the bridge of his nose, smoking joint between his fingers. 

Jihoon smiled and followed suit, blowing the smoke back into the room. “Upset the gods that designed us,” he said, and Joshua hums.

“Kind of fucked up, isn’t it?” he replied. “How our biology dictates our place in the world. Or who we can do what with.”

Jihoon snorted. “Amen.” He took another drag and flashed his eyes to Joshua’s neck. “Are you religious?”

Joshua looked at Jihoon. “Oh,” he said and reaches behind his neck to rub. “Yeah, but this is fake.” He brought his hand back, now smudged with ink. “It was a joke, between, Jeonghan and Seungcheol.”

Jihoon resisted the smile. “Go on.”

Joshua inhaled from the blunt. “I said a while ago that if I didn’t get laid tonight, I’d give up trying to find, you know… someone to go home with.” He risked a look at Jihoon before casting his eyes to the ceiling. “I’ve just never had much luck in that department.”

Jihoon looked at him, fondness sweeping over his chest. “Because you don’t like topping.”

Joshua took a deep breath in. “How could you tell?” he joked.

Jihoon spluttered a laugh and lay on his back, letting the spliff sit between his lips. “Looks like we’re in the same boat.”

“I just don’t get it though,” Joshua said, passion lacing his voice. “I get looked down on—and I can’t imagine what people say to you because you’re unmarked in your prime, or whatever—all because our entire place in society revolves around having kids!” He took a quick puff. “I mean since when was life about what we can and can’t do with our bodies? I’m tired. I’m tired of society dictating my role as Alpha jerk asshole for me.”

“You’re telling me!” Jihoon sat up suddenly. “Do you know how many times a night I get grabbed by an Alpha thinking its free real estate because they can’t smell another Alpha on me?”

“Ridiculous.”

“And I’m so fucking sick of my grandma telling me she wants grandkids soon because twenties is prime fertility. Like, they were already shocked that I went to college because, oh, my place is to be bred and raise kids.  _ Everyone  _ goes to college now, Nana, I do not want to be housesitter! I want a career and a life of my own without feeling like someone owns me and is their property to breed. It’s the twenty-first century! What the fuck is that about?!” Jihoon shook his head and blew the next intake of smoke from his nose. “And I bet its fucking annoying for you when Omegas expect you to be ready to fight at every second.”

Joshua sighed. “I mean, nowhere near as bad as what it must feel like for  _ you _ but it all comes from older people being insistent that if Alpha’s aren’t aggressive and possessive, they’ll be the runt of society or something. Majority of the Alphas  _ I  _ know aren’t sex-crazed and angry, but the ones that are are that way because we consume media every day that tells us that’s the way we have to be!”

“It’s  _ so  _ stupid!”

“I fucking hate it.”

Joshua and Jihoon both fell back into bed with a thud and smoke angrily at the world.

“Where have you been all my life?” Joshua sighed and decided tonight wasn’t the night for a roach. He extinguishes the rest of the joint in the ashtray in his drawer and passes it to Jihoon to do the same. 

Jihoon folded his hands behind his head and smiled, closing his eyes and muttering, “Wondering the same thing.” 

Joshua couldn’t tell if he was high or not because by the time he’d emptied the ashtray in the kitchen and cleaned the cannabis away, Jihoon was snoring lightly, covers drawn up to his neck. Joshua was high himself though and fell onto the bed with a little bit more vigour than he’d intended. He couldn’t wait for morning to finally be able to have that morning-after conversation with his two best friends, but in the same thought wondered what was going to happen tomorrow for him and Jihoon. His intoxicated mind was reeling, but sober Joshua knew that in reality, life was going to go back to being completely normal. 

He watched Jihoon for a moment while he slept and decided that if being high meant living in a world where Jihoon didn’t care about what his biology dictated, he never wanted to be sober again.

**Author's Note:**

> thank u very very much for reading, please leave your thoughts below and here's to 2020 being full of more self-indulgent fics! much more of this universe coming so if you liked it please stay tuned <3
> 
> love, c


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